arithmetic mean

American  

noun

Statistics.

1. the mean obtained by adding several quantities together and dividing the sum by the number of quantities.

   the arithmetic mean of 1, 5, 2, and 8 is 4.

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arithmetic mean British  

noun

1. Often shortened to: mean.  Also called: average.  an average value of a set of integers, terms, or quantities, expressed as their sum divided by their number Compare geometric mean

   the arithmetic mean of 3, 4, and 8 is 5

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arithmetic mean Scientific  

/ ăr′ĭth-mĕt′ĭk /

1. The value obtained by dividing the sum of a set of quantities by the number of quantities in the set. For example, if there are three test scores 70, 83, and 90, the arithmetic mean of the scores is their sum (243) divided by the number of scores (3), or 81.

2. See more at mean Compare average median mode

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Etymology

Origin of arithmetic mean

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

It would give the ECB greater flexibility by not tying it to an arithmetic mean.

From Reuters

If you’ve taken a little bit of math or statistics, you might reach for the mean—the arithmetic mean, to be precise.

From Scientific American

Dr. Johnson: We used standard deviations and arithmetic means.

From Washington Post

"When you think about it the Parliamentary arithmetic means that this must be a Parliament that works together and collaborates," she said.

From BBC

For various reasons, this is unlikely—though tight parliamentary arithmetic means it is impossible to rule out.

From The Wall Street Journal